The formula for a new Canadian novella
Advice for Taxidermists & Amateur Beekeepers by Erin Emily Ann Vance is a 2019 release from Alberta publishing house, Stonehouse Publishing. Through this novella we see a brief glimpse into the lives of the Morris family as they process the death of their pregnant sister, Margot, along with her two children in a house fire.
Set in a small town in Alberta, Margot’s three surviving siblings try to carry on their family’s traditional careers of beekeeping and taxidermy after their sister’s death. Many of the Morris family’s main connections within their community are through these professions. The people of the town, including their beekeeping and taxidermy communities, are taken by surprise with the tragic death, and they’re all left wondering if this house fire was an accident or on purpose — and if it’s arson, who did it?
Vance uses her 97 pages wisely. The novella jumps right into the story and its setting, not wasting any time. We’re able to learn about all three siblings well enough throughout the book to understand the family. With a book so short compared to other novels, the reader is left wondering why Vance didn’t just make it into a full-length book. But after taking some time away from the book after finishing it, I realized that its length was quite appropriate. We are given all of the information we need to satisfy us. We really don’t need a 400-page novel to learn about the fire and its aftermath; we need (and receive) a brief look into the lives of the Morris family without being bogged down with a large amount of useless information.
The book is dark: a family is grieving some of their own who were burned alive, but Vance doesn’t beat us over the head with this. Instead, she adds in pieces all throughout the story to see what the Morrises’ lives were like before the house fire. We’re given adequate coverage of the Morris family, and how they try to move forward.
This is a simple read. It’s something to pick up before bed and read a chapter or two of, but it’s not an attention-grabbing book. The grim circumstances in this rural town rarely leave us desperately curious. Sudden surprises and any sense of suspense are missing from this novella. Even though the main storyline of not knowing how the fire started was a big question mark throughout the entire book, there were never any moments where I was fully consumed by wanting to know what happened. At the end of the book when the truth was revealed, it felt like a let down; there wasn’t much build-up. I even flipped back a couple of pages to see if I had already actually known this and just forgotten or missed it — that’s how anticlimactic it felt.
Even though the ending was too subdued, the novel was well-written, relatable with the sibling relationships, and a decent read for times when you don’t want to get stressed but rather enjoy a quick and quiet read in the evenings.
